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In the past few weeks, thirteen people have left Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward, and according to Actvision community rep Dan Amrich, we may not have seen the last of it.

In January, Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle launched a contest asking consumers whether toilet paper should roll over or under. Well, the debate was settled by Oscar time, with people in the national poll choosing "over." Now, the brand is back with the next step in the campaign to keep the conversation going. It’s promising a "recall" of any bath tissue that doesn’t roll over. The campaign, created by JWT London (but running in the U.S. and Canada), includes TV and outdoor ads that show the company "recalling any toilet paper which doesn’t roll over." Cottonelle brand manager John Stanwood says: "We wanted to counter the theory that all toilet paper is the same and come up with an idea that was eye-catching, compelling and light-hearted." This, of course, doesn’t mean that retailers are pulling any TP that mysteriously rolls "under" from their shelves. That would be silly.

—Posted by Elaine Wong

What is the difference between pellets & paste wormer. Is one better than the other. I have problems giving my horses the paste. And was looking into giving them the pellet form with their food. CJ, Florida

Dear CJ,

While I believe some companies still make pelleted “purge” dewormers, I think you’re asking about the difference between daily dewormers (which come in pellets) and paste dewormers. The good news is that, depending on your horse’s situation, you may actually be able to do a better job of protecting him from parasites with a daily dewormer. The bad news is that you’ll still have to paste him twice a year to control those species of parasites that the daily dewormer doesn’t.

To be clear, daily dewormer comes in a pellet form and is designed to be fed every day to prevent internal parasites from taking hold in your horse. Paste dewormer comes in a tube and is given once every 30 to 90 days, depending on the active ingredient. Paste dewormers are designed to “purge” a horse of parasites and using them is known as rotational deworming.

A dewormer that is fed every day kills parasites before they have a chance to damage vital organs. By preventing worms from migrating through the gut wall, blood vessels, liver and other tissues, problems like weight loss, diarrhea, colic and other serious health conditions may be avoided.

However, before starting a horse on a daily dewormer, he should be “purged” of any larval and adult stages of worms he may already have using a paste dewormer that contains ivermectin or moxidectin. In addition, horses should be given ivermectin or moxidectin once or twice each year to control bots, as well as praziquantal or other effective ingredient once or twice a year to control tapeworms.

So while switching to a daily dewormer doesn’t completely absolve you from using paste dewormers, it’ll sure cut down on the number of times per year you’ll have to fight with your horse to get a tube in!

Me uní al equipo de trabajo del fallecido Senador Gaylord Nelson (fundador del Día del Planeta Tierra) justo cuando me gradué de la universidad, poco después de la celebración del segundo Día del Planeta Tierra en 1971. Me inculcó una pasión por el medio ambiente que aún vive en mí al día de hoy.

El proyecto comenzó cuando Nelson llamó a dos de sus ayudantes principales a su oficina en septiembre de 1969. Acababa de regresar de Santa Bárbara después de un horrendo derrame de petróleo cerca de la costa de California. Estaba enfurecido por la devastación ambiental y la inercia política en Washington. Había leído un periódico local donde hablaban de las actividades de concienciación en el campus de Berkley en contra de la guerra de Vietnam y se le ocurrió una idea. Le dijo a sus ayudantes, “Vean lo que pueden hacer para tener actividades de concienciación ambiental en los recintos universitarios alrededor de país coincidiendo el mismo día para la próxima primavera”.

El 22 de abril de 1970, unos 20 millones de estadounidenses participaron en el primer Día del Planeta Tierra (un récord para cualquier evento de cualquier tipo para aquella época). El senador Nelson se sintió satisfecho y con mucha razón. Había hecho de la protección ambiental su carrera y parecía que entonces Estados Unidos, el entonces principal contaminante del mundo, estaba listo para dirigir una revolución medioambiental. Bueno, no exactamente.

El primer proyecto que me asignó el senador fue llamar a los jefes de las principales 100 compañías Fortune (Top Fortune100) y alentarle a que reciclaran. Me tomó algún tiempo realizar la asignación ya que no había Internet en aquella época, pero completé la labor. Dos cosas se destacan de mi experiencia. Primero, pude comunicarme con 98 de ellos (directamente o contestaron mi llamada). Segundo, todos me colgaron el teléfono o se rieron a carcajadas y luego colgaron el teléfono. (En la actualidad, ni una de esas compañías, todavía en existencia, me dirían que no reciclan de alguna manera u otra).

Uno de sus principales ayudantes, John Heritage, escribió para el periódico Capital Times de Madison, Wisconsin recientemente. “Desafortunadamente, la salud ecológica de nuestra nación y de gran parte del mundo se ha deteriorado en las últimas cuatro décadas. Ahora nos enfrentamos…al calentamiento del clima mundial, la degradación de los océanos, la devastación de los bosques tropicales y la pérdida de los hábitats y las especies”.

Para honrar a Gaylord Nelson y su profundo entendimiento de las limitaciones ecológicas, es imperativo que trabajemos juntos por encontrar maneras para implementar un sistema que sea más favorable ambientalmente para la vida en la Tierra.

Sobre la autor:  John Larmett ha trabajado en la Oficina de Asuntos Públicos desde el 2008. Trabajó para el Senador Nelson del 1971 al 1980.

Artist David Karave: “I saw these dummies as experiencing the vague alerts, and the anxiety and the paranoia that we normally feel as a society, in place of us, and thereby saving us.” [CrashingAlert via DarkRoastedBlend] More »

Never one to mince words, ’80s catwalk staple and ousted America’s Next Top Model judge Paulina Porizkova refers to Heidi Montag as “a cheap plastic pool float” (Actually, that’s a pretty good comparison) in a controversial new Modelina.com blog posting that laments her “outrage” over the string of young stars who have augmented their bodies as of late.

Paulina writes: “Wouldn’t Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin, Twiggy, Charlotte Rampling, and Jean Harlow have lost their special brand of elegant, feline sexiness if they were tipping over under the weight of great ol’ mammaries? Compare any one of these natural beauties to someone like Heidi Montag, and it’s like comparing a Hastens Swedish handmade mattress to a cheap plastic pool float…..”

Ouch! Twitter Rant From Spencer Pratt Coming In 5, 4, 3, 2…..

Standing firmly on the argument that true beauty in about being unique, Paulina — no stranger to cosmetic surgery herself — also fires off at the newly-busty Kate Hudson, who the former supermodel claims has cheapened her good looks after going under the knife to increase her cup size.

“My issue here isn’t with Kate. If big boobs make her happier, then more power to her. The issue here, this fixing something perfect to something else perfect, is so much a sign of our times, and one that truly saddens me….”

[JURIST] A group of more than 30 privacy and civil liberty groups on Wednesday asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend the full body scanner program being implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The petition states that use of the full body scanner program is an invasion of privacy and that:
deployment of Full Body Scanners in US airports, as currently proposed, violates the U.S. Constitution, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”), the Privacy Act of 1974 (“Privacy Act”), and the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). As described below, the FBS program effectively subjects all air travelers to unconstitutionally intrusive searches that are disproportionate and for which the TSA lacks any suspicion of wrongdoing.According to the petitioners, the scanners are a step toward doing away with individualized suspicion and are particularly offensive to devout individuals. As such, the scans are opposed by religious groups. The petition also alleges that the scanners themselves have two major flaws: they cannot detect powdered explosives, and the operating systems are vulnerable to attack.In February, the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced that full body scanners in use at two UK airports may be illegal. The body scanners were introduced in part as a response to the failed US bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. The attempted attack prompted Obama to announce tighter security measures, which civil rights groups opposed as a pretext to racial profiling.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian (son of famed former UNLV basketball coach) has begun a tough radio attack on abortion against rival Sue Lowden, the former Nevada state party chairwoman. Lowden, who is now pro-life, leads GOP polls and fundraising.

Tarkanian begins TV ads at the end of the month and plans to be on the air through the GOP primary June 8th.

Tarkanian’s radio ad starting today hits Lowden for changing her position from pro-choice to pro-life for political reasons.

There are a dozen republicans vying for the chance to take on democratic incumbent Harry Reid in the fall. The Senate Majority leader in Washington is one of the top GOP targets. Reid’s polls are abysmal.

A third candidate, former State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, was endorsed by the national Tea Party Express group recently, substantially raising her profile in the GOP race which promises to be one of the nastiest Republican primaries of 2010.

Here’s the text of Tarkanian’s 30 second radio ad, “Political Convenience:”

Narrator: Sue Lowden told conservatives she was pro-life, but since then the truth has come out.  Sue Lowden supported Roe v Wade.   Sue Lowden voted for an initiative supporting abortion on demand. And she felt so strongly, she even tried to change the pro-life position of the Republican party.  No wonder one leading newspaper said she could quote: easily be convicted of political convenience.

While stuffed bears are usually nice and huggable, cross Naughty Bear off that list. He’s mean, he’s tough, and duh, he’s naughty. Not like sorority-girl-naughty, he’s more of a push-you-into-the-bonfire naughty.
 
 
 

Welcome to Mud, Mambas and Mushrooms. This is where the bloggy part of my new fractured web presence will live, while the sort-of static pages are over at http://new.kurtisscaletta.com.

I’ve given up on my web host, and moved this blog to wordpress dot com. While this means all of the content is here, it also means that some links are broken, and maybe some images won’t show up, but the text is here, and I’m all about the text.

And though an experienced and, I think, worthy, webmaster, I am now relying on a miscellany of free or practically free web services and abandoning the idea of a central repository of stuff over which I have much control, since that control proves to be illusory.

But you know, we’ve come to accept that the Internet is a volatile and rapidly changing place, rife with expiring links and disappearing websites, plagued by hordes of unsolicited ads for Viagra (which my spell check acknowledges) and nests of rapidly-breeding malware (which my spell check does not acknowledge). Thank you for sticking with me in these churning waters and mixed metaphors.

Your humbled author and blogger,

– Kurtis

Filed under: About this Site

Want to ridicule the Noise for his Billy Butler
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Chaotic feelings in Fantasyland have reached a boiling
point. Planes, losing millions in revenue per day, remain grounded. Hundreds of
inconvenienced passengers are stranded. And digital downloads of bizarro songs by alt-rock yodeler Bjork
have strangely increased.

Jon Lester(notes) has erupted.

Blanketing teams in irremovable ash and soot, the treasured Boston pitcher has
devastated ERA and WHIP totals for all who invested heavy coin in him. In three
forgettable outings he’s failed to produce a quality start, yielding 15 earned
in 16 innings pitched. He’s also issued a disturbing nine walks. Only Mount Marquis
has inflicted more damage.

Owners should’ve noticed the signs. Throughout much of the
spring the popular early round pick grumbled under the surface spewing small
plumes of steam into the Florida
air. Geologists and invested followers with a keen eye for historical trends
predicted this day would come.

Becoming increasingly obvious with each passing year, Lester
apparently doesn’t relish spring. Maybe the southpaw really loathes tulips.
Over 153.1 career innings in April/May, he’s posted a paltry 4.88 ERA and 1.49
WHIP. Frustrated by his downtrodden early season consistency, the rotation
anchor has had difficulty pinpointing the struggles. From the Boston Globe:

"This year I’ve felt better coming into the
season than I have in the past. I don’t know why this has happened,"
Lester said. "I’ve thought about it a lot. If there were something I could
do in the offseason or in spring training, I would do it."

"Obviously you want to start good," he said. "You always want
to get on an early run. The key to pitching is getting into a good rhythm every
five days and keeping it going. If you can do that, the more success you’ll
have."

"When you’re struggling early and struggling and struggling, it’s hard
to get in that rhythm. Everything in sports is the final result. That’s the
whole thing."

Based on the historical record, Lester probably won’t immediately eradicate
his mental demons. Simply, it’s par for the course. Whether physical
limitations or psychological burdens are responsible for the star’s annual
out-of-the-gate stumble isn’t important to the fantasy community. However, how
his performance after June 1 is. It’s over that stretch where he’s cashed in tallying
a career 3.35 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Last season, he was the 15th-most valuable
starter during that span according to Baseball Monster. Due to his
groundball-inducing ways (1.38 GB/FB in ’09) and strong K/9 output (9.96), he
will right the ship soon.

Until Lester’s lava flows cool, the market for his services will continue to
favor the buyer. Impatient owners who’ve discounted him in the past will likely
do it again. Already this week he’s been dished off for Bobby Jenks(notes), Lance
Berkman(notes) and Jason
Bay(notes) in one-for-one Y!
league trades. If someone in your league is shopping the lefty, pounce.

Mount Lester’s rupture has caused irreversible
damage. But inevitably his turbulent side will once again slip into a state of
dormancy.

Fearless Forecast
(full season): 201.1 IP, 14 W, 3.67 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 186 K

—

CATEGORY KILLER
Vampiristic commodity sucking
the life out of your team owned in more than 75 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Adam Dunn(notes), Was, 1B, OF
(92 percent-owned):  For the
impatient, Dunn’s woeful April has become unbearable. Sharing a toothbrush with
Mr. Mendoza, he has notched a mere nine hits over 47 at-bats (.192 BA) with
only one homer. Prolonged cycles of boom
and bust are the norm for the slugging first baseman. Any player with a career
32.3 strikeout percentage is going to experience an epic drought or three.
Under the surface, the passive-aggressive hitter has been surprisingly patient
totaling 14 walks to 11 strikeouts. He’s also posted an uncharacteristic 77.1
contact percentage. An overly watchful eye and bad timing appear to be the
culprits for his most recent swoon. Once he adjusts, a statistical bonanza will commence. A repeat of
last year’s totals, including BA, is very likely. Buy on the bear.

3…2…1…IMPLOSION!
Majority owned starter
who will soon maim an innocent Gatorade cooler

Max Scherzer(notes), Det
(4/23 at Tex,
66 percent-owned): Our gooey feelings for The Schiznit are well-documented.
Two seasons ago we penned nearly a thousand hyperbolic words on the power
righty several weeks before his major league debut. His blazing fastball, high
strikeout potential and cutie patootie dimples were just so lovable. But
sometimes love can stray. The Rangers’ have snapped out of their initial
offensive funk, totaling 13 runs over two games against the SAWKS. That
combined with the smallish feel of Rangers Ballpark means the whip could crack
on the Tigers starter. His fly-ball leaning peripheries (0.85 GB/FB) and
general good fortune (.270 BABIP) don’t inspire confidence.

SABER SLEUTH
Uncovering fantasy’s
lucky bastards one decimal place at a time

Clayton
Kershaw(notes), LAD, SP (97 percent-owned): Watching
Kershaw vex hitter’s with his nasty 12-to-6 curve is a thing of beauty. The
captivating pitch is the reason why gross expectations have been placed on the
22-year-old for years. However, the unpolished southpaw has resembled Rich
Hill(notes), not Sandy Koufax, so far this season. Yes, his ERA (3.18) and K/9 (10.59)
are heart-throbbing, but his auxiliary numbers paint a very dark picture.
Clasping hands with Lady Luck (.264 BABIP), the youngster has been extremely
fortunate. His wildness (7.94 BB/9) and unsustainable 14.6 line-drive
rate arrow to future ERA inflation. Until batters nibble more on his outside
offerings, free passes will continue to be an issue. As his 5.03 FIP indicates,
the tide could soon turn.     

—

Images courtesy of US Presswire

International rating agency Moody downgraded Toyota and its subsidiaries by one notch Thursday over the company’s recall woes and its trouble with the U.S. government. The prior rating of Toyota was Aa1, which has now been dropped to Aa2.

“We do not take this rating change lightly,” said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco. “We plan to aim for an improved rating by making the best management decisions we can with customer trust as our top priority.”

The rating is still relatively strong but the change shows the agency’s concern over the 8 million vehicles Toyota recalled worldwide.

Toyota’s rating also fell on the annual Forbes Magazine list of the world’s leading companies. It was number 3 last year and this year it fell to 360.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: CNNMoney

I don’t have any deep ethical insight, but this sort of stuff is interesting because there are a lot of samples out there I assume being used from a time before consent was as formalized. Sounds like the scientists probably oversold the practical applications of their research…like they would to a grant committee. Tribe Wins Fight to Limit Research of Its DNA:

“Did you have permission,” she asked during the question period, “to use Havasupai blood for your research?”

The presentation was halted. Dr. Markow and the other members of the doctoral committee asked the student to redact that chapter from his dissertation.

But months later, tribe members learned more about the research when a university investigation discovered two dozen published articles based on the blood samples that Dr. Markow had collected. One reported a high degree of inbreeding, a measure that can correspond with a higher susceptibility to disease.

Ms. Tilousi found that offensive. “We say if you do that, a close relative of yours will die,” she said.

Another article, suggesting that the tribe’s ancestors had crossed the frozen Bering Sea to arrive in North America, flew in the face of the tribe’s traditional stories that it had originated in the canyon and was assigned to be its guardian.

Listening to the investigators, Ms. Tilousi felt a surge of anger, she recalled. But in Supai, the initial reaction was more of hurt. Though some Havasupai knew already that their ancestors most likely came from Asia, “when people tell us, ‘No, this is not where you are from,’ and your own blood says so — it is confusing to us,” Rex Tilousi said. “It hurts the elders who have been telling these stories to our grandchildren.”

I guess I have more sympathy with the idea that you might have some implied property right to how your genetic information is used than I do with being offended because your primitive beliefs might be overturned (there is no way that American Indian land claims are based on paleoanthropology in any practical terms). Creationism is primitive too, and many evangelical Christians are “offended” at the idea that they might share common descent from apes. So?

Genomics Law Report has more commentary.

The White House has released potions of a speech to be made by the president later today in NYC. In it Mr. Obama calls on banking industry lobbyists to halt their efforts to stop financial reforms that he feels are in the best interest of the market and the country.

Here is the excerpt, from USAToday:

One of the most significant contributors to this recession was a financial crisis as dire as any we’ve known in generations. And that crisis was born of a failure of responsibility — from Wall Street to Washington — that brought down many of the world’s largest financial firms and nearly dragged our economy into a second Great Depression.

I am sure that many of those lobbyists work for some of you. But I am here today because I want to urge you to join us, instead of fighting us in this effort. I am here because I believe that these reforms are, in the end, not only in the best interest of our country, but in the best interest of our financial sector. And I am here to explain what reform will look like, and why it matters.

A comprehensive plan to achieve these reforms has passed the House of Representatives. A Senate version is currently being debated, drawing on the ideas of Democrats and Republicans. Both bills represent significant improvement on the flawed rules we have in place today, despite the furious efforts of industry lobbyists to shape them to their special interests.

It was that failure of responsibility that I spoke about when I came to New York more than two years ago — before the worst of the crisis had unfolded. I take no satisfaction in noting that my comments have largely been borne out by the events that followed. But I repeat what I said then because it is essential that we learn the lessons of this crisis, so we don’t doom ourselves to repeat it. And make no mistake, that is exactly what will happen if we allow this moment to pass — an outcome that is unacceptable to me and to the American people.

As I said two years ago on this stage, I believe in the power of the free market. I believe in a strong financial sector that helps people to raise capital and get loans and invest their savings. But a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it. That is what happened too often in the years leading up to the crisis. Some on Wall Street forgot that behind every dollar traded or leveraged, there is family looking to buy a house, pay for an education, open a business, or save for retirement. What happens here has real consequences across our country.

The administration also has on their website an outline of what financial reforms they support and why.

“Relying on market discipline to compensate for weak regulation and then leaving it to the government to clean up the mess is not a good strategy for economic growth nor financial security,” reads the post.

According to the White House the goals of these proposed reforms include:

* Clearer accountability in supervision and regulation so that financial firms can operate under a coherent set of rules and expectations without the current regulatory arbitrage opportunities that allow some firms to “game the system.”

* Stronger capital buffers to increase the ability of financial companies to weather the ups and downs of financial markets.

* Lesser concentration of risk among the largest financial firms so that any one firm can fail without creating a domino effect throughout the entire financial system that jeopardizes jobs, family savings and the entire economy

* Greater transparency in the derivatives market that will make the system safer by providing regulators with the data they need to manage systemic risk and help ensure the integrity of financial markets so we can prevent future AIG-like disasters.

The speech can be viewed live here at 11:55 EDT.

Obama: ‘Free market’ is not a ‘free license’ [USAToday]
Wall Street Reform [White House]

Deep Silver has announced a new arcade racing game called nail’d for PS3, PC, and Xbox 360. Hit the jump for details and a video.

Jonathan Chait over at TNR is strangely amazed that financial reform may happen:

What’s happening with financial reform right now is unlike anything that’s happened since I’ve been following American politics. Look at the fundamentals of the issue. This is a matter where a massive industry — one that accounts for close to half of all corporate profits — is adamantly opposed to new regulation. The merits of the issue are so mind-numbingly complex that even economists and policy wonks sound distinctly fuzzy on the details. Throw in a Republican Party that had pursued, with evident political success, a policy of total obstruction. I’d tell you this was a formula either for defeat or a toothless reform.

And yet a substantial reform now appears close to inevitable. It’s not a toothless reform — a set of derivative regulations more hawkish than anybody could have dreamed possible a couple weeks ago just passed through the Agriculture Committee. It’s one of those strange moments when the normal laws of politics have been suspended.

Me:  I am more amazed that given the magnitude of the financial crisis and the level of public rage, the banks weren’t broken up and turned into quasi-public utilities. But Wall Street can thank the White House for that. After passing the stimulus, it decided to focus on healthcare. Time passed, passions ebbed, and the lobbying effort cranked up. But the aftermath of the crisis (+Goldman) always made it likely that reform would pass.

KNOXVILLE — Vern Granger, undergraduate admissions director for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been named president-elect of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling.

His nomination was approved by the membership on April 20.

Granger has been at UT since September 2009. Prior to that, he worked in admissions at North Carolina State University.

The Southern Association for College Admission Counseling is a nonprofit, professional association founded in 1966 as a chartered affiliate of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). The organization includes about 1,600 members from secondary schools, colleges and universities, and educational consulting firms in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and the Caribbean. Members work together to promote high professional standards in the college admission process by exchanging ideas, sharing common goals and preparing counselors to serve students in the transition from high school to college. Additionally, more than 250 non-voting associate members from 30 other states participate in the association.

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected]@utk.edu)

Going along with the launch of the new 2011 XJ sedan, Jaguar announced today that it is launching a free scheduled maintenance program for all 2011 models. Known as the “Jaguar Platinum Coverage” customer care, the coverage will give all 2011 Jaguar U.S. and Canada owners increased vehicle warranty and a strong maintenance plan.

The new Jaguar Platinum Coverage features a five year/50,000 mile new vehicle limited warranty and complimentary scheduled maintenance for the duration of the warranty period, including no-cost replacement of select wear and tear components, and 24/7 roadside assistance.

Click here to get prices on the 2011 Jaguar XJ.

The no-cost coverage includes oil changes, filters, brake pads, brake discs, brake fluids and wiper blade inserts. The four programs combined offer customers class-leading coverage.

“Jaguars have always been known as beautiful, fast cars, and now, with our modern lineup supported by Jaguar Platinum Coverage, they will be known as beautiful, fast cars with exceptional customer care and dealership service,” said Jaguar North America Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Richard Beattie. “We are delighted to now provide our customers the class-leading warranty and maintenance package in the luxury segment; we hope to turn our customers’ affair with Jaguar into a long term relationship. We are firm on our mission to continue to provide an extraordinary level of customer satisfaction.”

2011 Jaguar XJ:

– By: Kap Shah

Lloyd Blankfein — head of Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, against which the SEC filed civil charges last week for defrauding clients in some mortgage-backed securities trades — famously stopped speaking to the press after he mentioned he thought Goldman was doing “God’s work” in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

My guess is that the public still won’t be hearing from Blankfein too often. The Financial Times reports that in his numerous calls to major clients, assuring them of the firm’s stability despite the SEC charge, he has argued the suit will “hurt America.”

Unlike Goldman’s participation in over-financializing the U.S. economy, stoking the mortgage crisis and shorting the housing market, leading to an $8 trillion loss in household wealth, the suit will hurt America. Right.

Citicorp posted a $4.4 billion profit this past quarter. Pretty fantastic, right? How are they rewarding their loyal customers? By jacking their interest rates and closing their credit card accounts, of course.

Reader Matt wrote to Consumerist for help:

I’ve been a Citibank cardholder for eight years now. I got my first card, a Citi Platinum Select, my freshman year of college in spring of 2002. Subsequently, over the intervening years, I’ve received three more cards: a Dividend rewards card, a Diamond Preferred card, and a Citi Professional card. Prior to this fracas, I maintained a FICO score above 700 on all three bureaus. My one major ding, however, was the balances to limit ratio…I fell into the trap of lots of college students. Going through grad school didn’t make things any easier. But I never missed a payment, was late only once in 8 years (and that only by 1 day), and I always made more than the minimum payment.

The problems started when, in preparation for the CARD act about six months ago, Citi sent me letters regarding my Dividend Rewards and Diamond Preferred cards, casually alerting me to the fact that they were changing the terms of my card. My rates would increase from 6.99% and 9.99%, respectively, to 29.99% each. (The former rates were not promotional rates, they were the result of consistently calling in every six months and slowly whittling down the rates over time.) The only way to I could retain my old rate on these cards was to cancel them. They explained the rate increase as the result of “increased lending costs”. I didn’t buy it, and immediately canceled the cards.

Since I carried balances on both cards, it immediately hurt the already bad situation in my debt ratios on my credit score. i.e. I had X amount of debt, with a $0 limit on the closed accounts. Kind of turned me upside-down.

Today I received another letter from Citi, notifying me that, “In our normal course of business, we review the standards we use to extend credit. We recently adjusted our credit standards and your account does not meet our new standards. As a result, your account will be closed on May 13, 2010.” So there goes my Platinum Select card, my longest held, most established revolving account. The only card remaining is my Citi Professional card, and I worry it’s only a matter of time before the other shoe drops.

To sum it up, Citi arbitrarily rate-jacked two of my cards, leaving me with no recourse other than to close them. Then, on the third card, they punished me even further for the problem that they helped cause, by randomly changing the requirements (which I failed to meet) and canceling the card. Color me surprised….I thought the CARD act was supposed to stop this kind of customer abuse?

I’m writing both as a cautionary tale (cut those cards up, PAY THEM OFF!) but also to ask for advice. Did I mention I’ve been unemployed since February 2009? Through all this time, yes, the balances crept up even further in relation to their limits, but I’ve never once gone over my limit, and I’ve still managed to scrape enough together each month to pay in excess of minimum, if even only $10 or $20. I deeply worry this will cause a cascading effect, further hurting my score and creditworthiness. I’d be glad to open another card and transfer balances, but that doesn’t seem like a very realistic option right now. I’d love to get rid of Citibank completely, but I don’t have any idea how.

There’s great advice from the Consumerist hive mind in the comments to this post from a reader who lost her job while carrying credit card debt. Also, try calling the secret backdoor numbers for Citibank to plead your case and try to get them to act in a civilized way. Good luck.